Device for picking-out and feeding weft hair in looms



Aug. 25, 1964 G. A. GRAND] 3,145,737 DEVICE FOR PICKING-OUT AND FEEDING WEFT HAIR IN LOOMS Filed May 6, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 13 T :I 12 11 4 I 10 Fig.2

v, n W J m N1 6 III M 11 n INVENTOR ATTORNEY Aug. 25, 1964 G. A. GRANDI DEVICE FOR PICKING-OUT AND FEEDING WEFT HAIR IN LOOMS Filed May 6, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 a: F, [I l 240 19 1a 32 33 31 22 42 30 Fig.5 A390 180 43 "39 30 H Jl I 44 42 3133 40 MOINVENTOR ATTORNEY Aug. 25, 1964 G. A. GRAND! 3,145,737

DEVICE FOR PICKING-OUT AND FEEDING WEFT HAIR IN LOOMS Filed May 6, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fig. 6

INVENTOR United States Patent 2 claims. or. 139-130 This invention relates to a device adapted to pick-out one at a time hair threads from a bunch and to feed the hair as weft to a loom.

The device is suitable for looms of the type in which weft is fed by a slidable rod acting as a weft inserter. Moreover, the device is useful wherever one hair at a time is to be picked up from a bunch of animal or synthetic hair, such as in manufacture of yarn comprising a hair core and a cotton thread or other winding (twisting).

The invention provides a device which operates smoothly by safely picking-out one hair or thread at a time, as distinct from devices presently in use which necessitate frequent stoppage in work in order to obviate disturbances deriving from absence of hair or pick-out of a plurality of hairs.

The device essentially comprises a pick-out head or pincers carried by the conventional weft feed member movable along the slay, cooperating with at least one cylindrical pot containing a bunch of hair, which is indexed in rotation and is carried by the slay and cooperates with abutment means which effect opening of the head for picking out one hair from the bunch.

The head comprises a shaped hook having a concave tip and a bushing formed with an internal seat, cooperating together and performing a relative movement towards and away from each other, controlled by resilient means and by the above abutment means.

Other objects of the invention will be pointed out in the following description and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which disclose, by way of example, the principle of the invention and the best mode which has been contemplated of applying that principle.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a part perspective view showing the device in connection with a weaving loom of the weft inserter type,

FIGURE 2 is a part sectional elevational view of the device shown in FIG. 1,

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of FIG. 2,

FIGURE 4 is a longitudinal section on an enlarged scale of the pick-out head employed by the device shown in the preceding figures,

FIGURE 5 is a part sectional plan view of FIGURE 4,

FIGURE 6 is a detail view on an enlarged scale the end of the pick-up head,

FIGURES 7a, 7b, 70 show on a greatly enlarged scale a detail of the shaped hook end.

Referring to FIGURES 1 to 7, 4 denotes the slay on a loom performing a pendular oscillational movement about a lower transverse axis 4a with respect to which a transverse rod 30 is guided and performs a reciprocating axial movement in order to feed the weft hair between the warp threads 0 to form the fabric T.

The transverse rod 30 shall be referred to hereafter as weft inserter.

A cylindrical pot 2 is arranged with a vertical axis at one end of the slay and is guided for rotation about its axis within a bushing 3 provided with a top stop rabbet 5 and a bottom toothed rim 6.

A charger 15 is arranged within the pot 2 and is retained by a set screw 15a. The charger encloses a bunch of hair threads 14 adapted to form the fabric weft. The

3,145,737 Patented Aug. 25, 1964 "ice hairs in the bunch are constantly held in contact with the charger walls by the provision of an internal leaf spring 16 wound to spiral form.

The toothed rim 6 meshes with a toothed pinion 7 fixedly secured to a ratchet wheel 10 having a saw tooth profile. The pinion 7, and ratchet wheel 10 are mounted about a pivot 8 carried by a strap 9 laterally secured to the bushing 3 so that it is fast with the slay.

An arm 13 is mounted for oscillation about the pivot 8 and carries an oscillating pawl 11 cooperating with the wheel 10 to form a pawl ratchet drive, the pawl being held engaged with the wheel 10 by a spring 12. The arm 13 is articulated by means of a rod 17 mounted on the stationary loom frame, so that pendular oscillations of the slay oscillate the arm 13 about the pivot 8, thereby indexing the ratchet wheel 10, and pinion 7, this movement being transmitted to the toothed rim 6, hence to the hair bunch 14 in the pot 2.

The number of teeth in the toothed rim 6 and wheel 7 are prime to each other so that on its consecutive part rotations the hair bunch 14 constantly takes a different angular position.

One end of the weft inserter rod 30 is provided with a reduced extension 31, FIGS. 4, 5. A cylindrical casing 18 of a pick-out head is mounted about the rod end on the extension 31 and is formed with inner recesses 22, 23 matching in diameter the portion 30 of the weft inserter rod and extension 31, respectively.

The casing 18 is formed with a longitudinal top slot 25 and carries at its front end a bushing 19 held by a set screw 21. The bushing 19 is formed with an axial through bore 19a, a shaped forward edge 19b and a re-entering seat of substantially conical shape coaxial with the bore 19a, FIG. 6.

The extension 31 on the weft inserter carries at its front end a member 24, FIGS. 4 and 5, retained by a set screw 32, guided along slot 25 in the casing 18 and ending in a tip portion 24a bent to form a semicircular hook. The hook tip is formed with a concave seat 24b which is clearly visible in FIGS. 7a, 7b, 7c and is turned towards the bushing 19 to cooperate with the inner seat 190 in the bushing in order to clamp one hair 14b out of the bunch 14 (FIG. 6).

A chamber 22 in the casing 18 encloses a helical spring 33 which supplies contact pressure between the tip of the hook 24a and bushing 19.

The weft inserter 30 is formed with a cross slot 42 receiving a lever 39 mounted for oscillation about a pivot 40. The ends of the lever 39 are guided through two longitudinal slots 43, 44 in the casing 18 and extend to the outside of the casing.

An abutment 38 is secured to the slay 4 in proximity to the pot 2 for the hair bunch and is formed with a substantially conical inner seat 38a, FIGS. 2 and 3, within which reaches the tip 18a of the casing 18 at the end of the forward stroke of the weft inserter 30.

The rod performs by inertia together with the hook 24a a certain part stroke, thereby compressing the spring 33, the casing 18 being stationary in contact with the abutment 38. The hook 24a is thereby removed from the bushing 19 and enters the hair bunch 14, FIG. 2.

As the return stroke of the weft inserter 30 starts, the tip of the hook 24:: again comes into contact with the bushing 19, thereby clamping one hair indicated by 14b in FIG. 6. The weft inserter 30 then performs its stroke along the slay 4 and the lever 39 eventually abuts another stop (not shown) provided on the slay 4, which effects compression of the spring 33 and removal of the tip of the hook 24a from the bushing 19, whereby the hair 14b is deposited between warp threads 0.

The size of the tip of the hook 24a is such as to retain one hair only, though the hair gauge may vary from a maximum in FIG. 7a to a minimum in FIG. 70.

The hair bunch 14 is differently oriented on each stroke of the weft inserter 30 by effect of indexing thereof in rotation. This affords an uninterrupted smooth operation of the device till the hair stock in the bunch is exhausted, Without necessitating stoppage in work in order to rearrange the hair in the bunch within the charger 15.

Stoppage and opening of the pick-out head effected by the abutment 38 avoids any stress on the hair bunch 14 on pick-out of the hair, whereby a frequent combing of the bunch entailing stoppage of the machine, as required by conventional devices of this type is no longer necessary. The device according to this invention admits of high rate of speed in operation, because the hair bunch is relieved from any impact by the pick-out head.

Alternatively, the weft thread feed device described above can be arranged at the middle region of the slay to afford a double action, two pick-out heads being arranged at the opposite rod ends, respectively.

What I claim is:

1. In a device for picking-out and feeding hair Weft on looms, a slay, a weft inserter movable along the slay, a pick-out head carried by said weft inserter, at least one pot containing a hair bunch rotatably mounted on said slay and abutment means fixed to the slay to effect opening of said head for pick-out of the hairs from said bunch,

said pick-out head comprising a bushing formed at its free end with a re-entering, substantially conical seat and a rod-like member movable longitudinally with respect to said bushing and having a hook like terminal portion provided with a concave tip arranged in front of said seat in said bushing, spring means being interposed between said rod-like member and bushing.

2. Device as claimed in claim 1, wherein an extension is carried by the weft inserter and has secured thereto said rod-like member, a hollow cylindrical casing being fitted about the forward end of said weft inserter and having secured thereto said bushing and being biased by the spring which bears against a portion of the weft inserter and urges the concave tip of said rod-like member against the seat in said bushing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 21,793 Chafee of 1858 883,810 Knittel Apr. 7, 1908 1,054,537 Grosslaub Feb. 25, 1913 FOREIGN PATENTS 149,947 Germany Aug. 3, 1902 199,495 Germany Jan. 18, 1906 564,928 Italy Jan. 5, 1957 

1. IN A DEVICE FOR PICKING-OUT AND FEEDING HAIR WEFT ON LOOMS, A SLAY, A WEFT INSERTER MOVABLE ALONG THE SLAY, A PICK-OUT HEAD CARRIED BY SAID WEFT INSERTER, AT LEAST ONE POT CONTAINING A HAIR BUNCH ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID SLAY AND ABUTMENT MEANS FIXED TO THE SLAY TO EFFECT OPENING OF SAID HEAD FOR PICK-OUT OF THE HAIRS FROM SAID BUNCH, SAID PICK-OUT HEAD COMPRISING A BUSHING FORMED AT ITS FREE END WITH A RE-ENTERING, SUBSTANTIALLY CONICAL SEAT AND A ROD-LIKE MEMBER MOVABLE LONGITUDINALLY WITH RESPECT TO SAID BUSHING AND HAVING A HOOK LIKE TERMINAL PORTION PROVIDED WITH A CONCAVE TIP ARRANGED IN FRONT OF SAID SEAT IN SAID BUSHING, SPRING MEANS BEING INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID ROD-LIKE MEMBER AND BUSHING. 